fish · The Trophy Room
Beltfish
A living ribbon of chrome — the Atlantic cutlassfish, or beltfish, is a long silver blade of a fish with a mouthful of fangs, caught right off the South Padre surf. Strange to look at, prized to eat across Asia, and a genuine surprise on the end of a beach line.
Identifying
- extremely long, flat, ribbon-like silver body that tapers to a thread, no real tail fin
- a big jaw armed with needle-sharp fangs — handle the head with respect
- bright metallic silver, almost mirror-finish, when fresh
- a single fin running the whole length of the back
Facts
- swims vertically, head-up, hanging in the water column to ambush bait
- one of the most-eaten fish on Earth by tonnage, huge in East Asian cuisine, overlooked on US beaches
- the silver skin is a guanine coating — the same stuff that once made imitation pearls
